Mechanical parking garage



June 21, 1932.

E. GEIGER MECHANICAL PARKING GARAGE Original Filed March 14. 1929 wauunnnnj INVENTOR $17152 Geq'yr BY j ATTORNEY Patented June 21, 1932 iFtITlZfi STATES PATE NT series ERNST GEIGEB, OF IRVINGTON, NEW JERSEY MECHANICAL PARKING GARAGE 2 Application filed March l4, 1929, Serial 1 age, a. maximum number of cars are parked in the available space, a maximum number of cars may be received and stored in a given period of time, and every car is readily accessible for purposesof expeditious delivery when the owner calls for it. In carrying out the invention I utilize certain of the principles disclosed in my prior Patent No. 1,636,600 of July 19th, 1927, and certain of the principles disclosed in my copending applications Serial No. 295,586, filed 'July 26th, 1928, and Serial No. 322,330, filed November 28th, 1928. In accordance with the present invention, however, these principles are embodied in a unitary garage structure and are so correlated that a unique garage of maximum capacity and maximum car handling efiiciency is produced, and the disadvantages of the previous systems are entirely obviated.

In my prior patent I showed the use of endless connected chains of orbit-ally movable car parking cabins travelling'around a central series of superimposed floors, certain of which serve as storage floors and certain of which serve as car delivery and receiving floors, connected by separate ramps with the street. In this system the dead storage space was not utilized with maximum efiiciency and whole trains of cabins were tied up for car transportation purposes to and from the dead storage floors.

In application Serial No. 295,586, an improved construction is shown in which the storage floors instead of being fed from the endless cabin chains are fed from the separate elevators and there is provided in 'efiect garage systems, one operating on the endless chain principle and the other on the ordinary elevator principle and each system us ng all the platforms the construction is No. 346,852. Renewed October 9, 1930.

of the available waste space of the other. The storage floors, however, are again sub stantially dead storage space from which cars are'removed only with difficulty and inexpeditiously.

. In application Serial No. 322,330 1 dis-' 7 closed the. use of automatic parking equipment in the form of horizontally movable storage platforms on the storage floors. Gonsiderable dead storage space still remained,

however, and the method of shifting cars from elevators to platforms and of alining with the elevators was not entirely satisfactory or wholly conducive to rapid car handling. a I In accordancewith the present invention, materially improved by retaining the endless vertically disposed parking cabin trains and of automatic car handlingstorage floors of a secondary or elevator system. This apparatus is in the nature of a by the provision series of connected horizontally movable car for is entirely obviated an platform may be rapi parking platforms or trucks conveniently-accurately alinable with the elevators for the reception of the incoming and outgoing cars. Thus the need for shuffling thecars on the. storage floors when one of the cars is called d any car parking dly brought into registry with the delivery elevator at any time.

A feature of the invention is the novel manner in which the platforms of the horizontal trains are mounted. By the simple expedient of disposing these platforms at an angle relatively to the tracks in or on which. they swinging around the curved 'thelr orbit.

travel; a tremendous economy of space is efiected particularly when the patforms are and portions of This angular disposition of the platforms also insures their correct registry with the special elevator mechanism which a pair of interlocking, wholly independent ly movable platforms may be handled almost is used for conveyingthecars to and from the storage floors, and the arrangement of the platforms and tracks leaves practically no dead storagespace in the entire system.

Thus the usual expeditious car handling facilities of any endless chain system are afapparatus' on the I forded and the cars parked on the horizontalthe line 22 of Fig. 1.

1y narrowlot, say feet, which may as expeditiously asthose in the endless cabin train.

'With the above noted and other objects in view, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combinations and arrangements of parts which will be more fully hereinafter described and pointed out in the claims. W V

The invention may be more fully understood from the following description in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein: V Fig. 1 is a broken sectional plan view of a garage embodying the invention, the .right hand portion of this view showing a typical plan of one of the upper car parking-floors the'left hand portion of the. view showing atypical ground floor plan.

Fig. 2 is a broken 'v-ertic'alsectional view through the garage taken approximately on Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary" plan view of one of the plate'forms with parts bro ken away an d in section to disclose the actuating means for the platform train.

The drawing is in many respects diagrammatic throughout; Since reference may be had to my-prior patent fordetails of the endless chain structure, to my prior application Ser. No. 295,586 for details of the elevator structure and to my prior application, Serial :No. 322,330, for details of the platforms and their actuating means, noneof these parts are illustrated in profuse detail here. I

In the drawing, I have shown a relatively tall garage building erectedupon a relativebe of The any depth desired, say 100 to 200 feet.

sidewalls of thebuildingam shown atlO,

the roof at 11 and the basement at- 12. At

'each side of the building. but terminating short of the front and rear thereof are banks of vertical shaftways 13, connected at their tops and bottoms by crossways 14L Land 15 respectively. .The endless chains of car parking cabins 16 are hung between and carried by pairs of endless flexible devices 17 and travel in the orbital paths defined .by opposite shaftways 13 and connective crossways 14 and 15. The flexible devices17 may be actuated by and guided over pairs of drums or sprockets 18 mounted in the upper crossways and guided in any suitable manner not shown) through thelower crossways.

.The central. pace between the banks of shaftways 13 andbetweenthe upper and'lower crossways 14 and 15 is horizontally subdivided into a plurality of floors 18, the up- "per floors of this series serving as storage floors and the lower floors '19 and20 serving .ascar delivering and car receivingfloors respectively. The floor 19 usually somewhat above street level: communicates with the street through one or both ends of the garage es by a descending ramp 21 and aramp 22 from "parallel "possible between 'the banks of shaftways.

the street level leads down to the receiving floor 20. I

Preferably a central control disposed between the ramps. This control house contains automatic electrical control house 23 is mechanism (which forms no part of the presentinvention) for automatically setting the endless cabin chains 16 in motion to bring any cabin into position at the receiving or delivery floors 19 and 20.

At the front of thebuilding forwardly of the shaftway banks 13 there are provided a pair of ordinary elevator shaftways 241, one at each side of the building in which elevators 25 are vertically movable. Each elevator mounts'a swivelled carriageor car frame 26, which under normal conditions is axially alined with the elevators, as shown in Fig. 1, so th'ata'car may drive from the street over the roadway 27 andthrough the doorway 28 directly into one of the elevators ormay drive out of the other elevator through the doorway 29 and over the roadway 30 to the street. If desired, and particularly where the garage is ofa double ended construction, that isto say, where it fronts on two streets, rear elevator shaftw'a'r'ys'24a may be provided between the rear end of the banks of shaftways 13 and-the rear of the garage, these shaftways guiding the vertical travelof elevators 25a similar to elevators and-carryingsimilar swinging car'frames 26a. 1'5 a The upper or storage'fioor's-18 of thefgarage arerelatively; restricted at their intermediate portions by yond the ends of'said banks are expanded elevator shaftways 24 and24a'.

It is' on these floors that the endless series these platforms receiving cars from and de- -livering them to the various elevators 25 and 1 my copending application Serial No: 322,330,

andhave not been illustrated in great detail here. The endless tracks 33 in which the horiz'ontalplatform trainis guided includes runs disposed as close together as Beyond the shaftway banks 13 the straight parallel runs of the tracks are connected by relatively large 'loops33a, these loops being "ofpartial circular shapeand of a'diameter greater than the distance between the parallel straight runs of the track and as large as permitted by the floor space at 18a. l

I have discovered that if the platforms 31 are mounted withtheir longitudinal axes at an angle ofapproximately 35 to the tracks Yon which the platforms travel, a considerably greater number of platforms may be the banks ofshaftways 13 andbe laterally at 18a to an extent limited by the e r- T v of car parking platforms 31 are provided,

connected together for travel on an orbital track of a given length and by mountln g platforms askew on the track I furthermore br ng them automatically into exact alinement wlth the swinging car carrying frames 26 and 26a of the elevatorsand 25a. The width of the storage floors 18 is determined by the width of the car roadways or delivery and receiving floors 19, 20. These floors must be about 25 feet in width to permit manipulation of the cars thereon. By disposing platforms 31 at an angle of about to the track the platforms of the two parallel track runs just clear each other and the walls of the shaftways 13. V

The elevator shaftways at the upper floors have relatively wide side doorways 35 so that the frames 26 or 26a with a car thereon may be swung laterally partly out of the elevator to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. That is to say, it may be swung at an angle of approximately to the long1tud1- nal axis of the elevator wherebya car may be driven straight off the frame or turntable 26 on to a waiting platform 31. It will be particularly noted in Fig. 1 that each platform in one portion of its travel around the loop 33aireaches a position of exact alinement with an outwardly swung car-carrying frame 26a, so that a car may be readily driven on to the platform from'the frame of either elevator 25a. While not illustrated, a similar condition exists in connection with the eleva tor frames 26 at the opposite end of the garage where the opposite loop 33a of the track is provided.

Means for actuating the endless horizontal train of platforms may conveniently include the sprocket chain 35 carrying gripper mem bers 36 which engage with the pendant king pins 37 of the platform supporting trucks 32. In order to hold the platforms against lateral tilting their free corners are preferably supported on rollers or casters shown in dotted lines at 37. a

It will be, understood that the trains of horizontal car parking platforms are also automatically electrically controlled in an suitable manner from the control house 23, so that any platform of any train may be brought automatically into alinement with any elevator.

The operation of the garage is as follows: A car enteringthe front of the garage may drive down the ramp 22 on to the receiving floor 20 where it is swung to the left and into a waiting storage cabin 16, which has been brought into proper receiving position by manipulation of the central controls.

When cars parked in any of the cabins 16 are called for the operative in, charge of the controls sets the required cabin train in motion, bringing the desired cabin into alinement with the delivery floor 19 and the car is driven out on to the delivery floor, swung or the two sets of trains to the left, driven down the ramp 21 and leaves the garage, there beingno need for the driver to do anything but drive his car into the cabin and drive it out again.

When the endless trains of vertically mov- P.

able parking cabins '16 are filled, the horizontal trains of platforms 31'are resorted to for'car storagepurposes, or if desired, the garage may have two different parking rates, one for the cabins l6 and one for the platforms 31, the rate for the latter storage being slightly less due to the fact that the car handling is slightly slower; When a car is to be the driver runs it over the roadway 27 into the elevator 25 and thereleaves the car. A garage attendant then runs the elevator 25 up to the desired storage floor 18 and swing stored on one of the platforms 81, i

mg the car carrying frame 26 to the desired .7

angle drives the car off on to a waiting empty platform which has previously been brought into receiving position by manipulation of the controls at the' central control house 28. Similarly is required by the owner, the control man shifts the platform carrying this car into registration with the opposite elevator 25, an' attendant runs the elevator 25 up to the when a car on one of the floors 18 n parking floor, drives the car from the platform on to the frame 26, swings the frame back into the elevator, descends to the ground floor and delivers the car to its owner. a f

It will thus be seen that the present garage provides a pair parking systems, both fully automatic in operation. The two systems are so mechanically interrelated insofar as the structure itself is concerned that practically every available foot of parking space is util- I ized efficiently, all this being accomplished without in any way impeding the expeditious reception of delivery of cars.

The garage combination described above is particularly effective when the cabins of the endless vertical trains are designed for standard sized cars. Undersized and .over sized cars may then be stored on the horiy zontal movable platforms, certain of the platforms being designed for oversize cars and certain of them for undersized cars. 7

Obviously the arrangement of the vertical trains and the horizontal trains is subject to considerable variation In many instances the horizontal trains may encircle the vertical trains instead of being encircled by them,

might be linked together, one run of the horizontal trains lying between the runs of the vertical train and vice versa.

It will thus be seen that there is herein described a device in which the several features of this invention are embodied, and which device in its action attainsthe various objects of the invention and is well suited to meet the requirements of'practical use.

of totally independent carbuilding storage As many changes could be -made' in the above construction, andmany apparently widely difierent embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative'and not inalimiting sense. i

l/Vhat I claim is: i V I V l. A pair of mechanically interfitting and functionally independent mechanical car parking systems housedwithin a single building, one of said systems including spaced banks of vertical shaftways connected at their upper and lower ends by horizontal cross-ways, and endless chains of car storage cabins travelling through the orbital pathways defined by said shaftways and crossways, the other of said systems including car floors occupying the space between the shaftway banks, elevators independent of the storage cabinsfor conveying cars thereto, and endless tralns of car'parklng platforms travelhng over said floors.

2. Apair of mechanically interfitting and functionally independent mechanical. car

parking systems housed within a single build ing, one of said systems including spaced banks of verticalshaftways connected at their upper and lower ends by horizontal cross-ways, and endless'chains of carstorage cabins travelling through the orbital pathways defined by said shaftwa-ys and crossways, the other of said systems including car storage floors occupying the space between the shaftway banks, elevators independent of street; i

the storage cabins for conveying cars thereto, and endless trains of car parking platforms travelling over said floors, each system including means whereby cars may be loaded on and unloaded from its parking'devices and said means being whollyindependent of each other.

3. A pair of mechanically interfitting and functionally independent mechanical car parking systems housed within a single building. one ofsaid systems including spaced banks of vertical shaftways connected at their upper and lower ends by horizontal cross-ways, and endless chains of car storage cabins travelling through the orbital pathways defined by said shaftways and crossways, the other of said systems including car storage floors occupying the space between the shaftway banks. elevators independent of the storage cabins for conveying cars there-' to and endless trains of car parking platforms travelling over said floors, the storage cabin systemin'cluding a loading floor arranged between the shaftway banks beneath the storage floors of the other system and driveways .4. Asgarage building including banks f f the leading from, said floor to the vertical shaftwaysat opposite sides thereof, upper and lower transverse cross-ways connecting pairs of opposite shaftways at their tops and bottoms, storage floors disposed between the banks of shaftways and extending longitudinally therebeyond, an elevator shaftway between the first mentioned banks and an end of the building, a vvertically movable conveyor elevator therein adapted to convey cars to and from the end of the storage floors, endlesschainsof car storage cabins mounted to travel in the orbital pathways defined by thefirst mentioned shaftways and cross-ways, and horizontally movable endless trains of car parking platforms on the storage floors. 7

p 5. A relatively long narrow buildingof substantial height and a pair of independently operating car storage systems housed therein one of said systems including end less chains of car storage cabins, shaftways at opposite sides of the building spaced from the ends thereof and horizontal crossways at the top and bottonr of the building connecting saidshaftways, said shaftways and crossways defining an orbital path for the travel of the cabins of the endless chains,'the other system'including storage floors, the restricted intermediate portions of which are disposed between the banks of shaftways and the ends of which extendthe full width of the building, conveyor-elevators disposed at theends I buildingbeyond the. storage cabin shaftways for delivering and receiving cars from the storage floors and endless trains of car parking platforms movable over the storage floors. V

, 6. A 'relativelyvlongvnarrow building of substantial height anda pair of independently operating car storage systems housed therein, one of said systems including endless chains of -car storage cabins, shaft-ways at opposite sides ofthe building spaced from theends thereofand horizontal cross-ways at the top and bottom of the buildingconnecting said shaftway's, saidshaftways and crossways defininganorbital path for the travel of the cabinsof the endless chains, the other systemiinclnding storage floors, the restricted intermediate portions ofiwhich are disposed between the banks of shaftways and the ends of' which extend the full width of the building. conveyor elevators disposed at the ends of the building beyond the storage cabin shaftways for delivering and receiving cars from the storage floors, and endless trains of car parking platforms movable over the storage floors, the endless trains of platforms includingpa-rallel runs travelling in the restricted space between the shaftwayibanks and-enlarged end loops travelling onthe enlarged ends of the floors. v

7 A relativelylong narrow building of substantial height anda pair of independentoperating car storage systems housed therein, one of said systems including endless chains of car storage cabins, shaftways at opposite sides of the building spaced from the ends thereof and horizontal cross-ways at the top and bottom of the building connecting said shaftwa-ys, said shaftways and crossways defining an orbital path for the travel of the cabins of the endless chains, the

restricted intermediate portions of which are disposed between the banks of shaftways and the ends of which extend the fullwidth ofthe building, conveyor elevators disposed at the ends of the building beyond the storage cabin shaftways for delivering and receiving cars from the storage floors, and endless trains of car parking platforms movable over the storage floors, the endless trains of platforms including parallel runs travelling in the restricted space between the shaftway banks and enlarged end loops travelling on the enlarged ends of the floors, the platforms in certain portions of their travel around the loops alining with the elevators.

8. A relatively long narrow building of substantial height and a pair of independently operating car storage systems housed therein, one of said systems including endless chains of car storage cabins, shaftways at opposite sides of the building spaced from the ends thereof and horizontal cross-ways at the top and bottom of the building connecting said shaftways, said shaftways and crossways defining an orbital path for the travel of the cabins of the endless chains, the other system including storage floors, the restricted intermediate portions of which are disposed between the banks of shaftways and the ends,

of which extend the full width of the building, conveyor elevators disposed at the ends of the building beyond the storage cabin shaftways for delivering and receiving cars from the storage floors, and endless trains of car parking platforms movable over the storage floors, the endless trains of platforms including parallel runs travelling in the restricted space between the shaftway banks and enlarged end loops travelling on the enlarged ends of the floors, the platforms in certain portions of their travel around the loops alining with the elevators, said elevators including swinging car supporting frames to bridge the space between the elevators and the platforms.

9. A garage including a storage floor, an endless track on the floor including straight runs and curved runs and an endless connected series of car parking platforms movable along the track and having their longitudinal axes disposed at an angle to the straight portions of the track.

10. In a garage a plurality of superimposed storage floors, an elevator shaftway having doors communicating therewith, an endless series of low, connected car parking platelly mounted near one end on the floor of the elevator and capable of swivelling movement partially out of the elevator to bring a car which it carries into alinement with one of the platforms when the latter is in a pmdetermined position. i a other system including storage floors, the' 11. 'In'a ara e a "oluraliti of su'oerima: l i

posed storage floors-an. elevator shaftwa having doors communicating, therewith, an

with one of the platforms when the latter is 85 in a predetermined position, the longitudinal axes of said platforms being disposed at an angle relatively to the line of travel of the platforms. I

12. In a garagea connected series of car parking elements movable in an orbit the plane of which is vertical and endless series a car carrying track near one end on the" of car parking devices movable in an orbit the plane of'which is horizontal, one of said trains encircling the other.

13. In a garage a connected series of car parking elements movable in an orbit the plane of which is vertical, and endless series of car parkingdevices movable in an orbit the plane of which is horizontal, one of said trains encircling at least one run of the other train. 7 l i 14. In a garage a connected series'of car parking elements movable in an orbit the plane of which is vertical, and endless series of car parking devices movable in an orbit the plane of which is horizontal, the horizontal train being encircled by the vertical train.

15. In a garage, a series of endless car parking trains moving in spaced vertical shaftways, horizontal storage floors between the shaftways, endless trains of car parking platforms travelling'on the floors and independent means for bringing'cars to and from the parking platforms.

16. In a garage, a plurality of superim Y posed storage floors, endless series of car' parking platforms movable over the floors, an elevator shaftway, an elevator running in the shaftway, a movable track carried by the elevator and shiftable into alignment with the platforms when the latter are in a predetermined position. 7

17. In a garage, a plurality of superimposed storagefioors, endless series of guided car parking platforms movable over the floors, the longitudinal axes ofsaid platforms being disposed at an angle relatively to the line of travel of the platforms, and means for transferring cars to or from any of the parking platforms on any of the storage floors.

-6 v aue-74s 18. Ina garage, a plurality of superimposed storage floors, endless series of guided parking platforms movable over thee-floors, the longitudinal axes'of said plat-forms being 5 disposed at an angle to the line of travel of the platforms, an elevator shaft, anelevator 7 running in the shaftway, a track on the elevator movable into alignment with any of the platforms When the latter are in a prede- 10 termined position. v i n r 4 Signed at New York, in the county of New ,York and State of New York, this 12th day of March, A. D. 1929. o V 4 ERNST GEIGER] 

